Written Answers Friday 10 October 2008

Scottish Executive

Central Heating Programme

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to the central heating scheme were made by residents of the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency between May 2007 and 30 August 2008.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many successful applications to the central heating scheme were made by residents of the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency between May 2007 and 30 August 2008.

Stewart Maxwell: Information is not held by parliamentary constituency.

Epilepsy

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes there have been to the eligibility criteria for a free bus pass for people suffering from epilepsy since the free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people was introduced.

Stewart Stevenson: There have been no changes to the eligibility criteria for people suffering from epilepsy. However, the application process has been made easier for epilepsy sufferers applying on the grounds that, for medical reasons, they have been refused a driving licence or their licence has been revoked.

Fuel Poverty

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of (a) heating oil and (b) other fuel users lived in fuel poverty in each of the last five years.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) collects this data, but only for the years 2002, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 of the last five years. As the data is from a survey, all figures are estimates. The SHCS estimates of the count and percentage of people in households which use heating oil or not by whether they are in fuel poverty or not is shown in the following table:

  

 Heating Oil
 Estimated count
 Estimated %


 Year
 Not in Fuel Poverty
 In Fuel Poverty
 Not in Fuel Poverty
 In Fuel Poverty


 2002
 210,000
 40,000
 84
 16


 2003-04
 239,000
 54,000
 82
 18


 2004-05
 295,000
 75,000
 80
 20


 2005-06
 246,000
 101,000
 71
 29



  

 Other Fuels
 Estimated Count
 Estimated %


 Year
 Not in Fuel Poverty
 In Fuel Poverty
 Not in Fuel Poverty
 In Fuel Poverty


 2002
 4,320,000
 466,000
 90
 10


 2003-04
 4,386,000
 552,000
 89
 11


 2004-05
 4,167,000
 663,000
 86
 14


 2005-06
 4,032,000
 858,000
 82
 18

Fuel Poverty

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on tackling fuel poverty among heating oil users in each year since 1999 and how much it intends to spend before the end of 2008.

Stewart Maxwell: Information on the resources committed through the Warm Deal programme and the public sector central heating programme is not collected by heating fuel type.

  However, the information requested covering the central heating programme in the private sector is available and is shown in the following table.

  

 Period
 Number of Oil Systems Installed
 Average grant cost (£)
 Total Cost (£)


 2001-02
 107
 3,609
 386,193


 2002-03
 564
 3,923
 2,212,672


 2003-04
 1,585
 4,478
 7,098,785


 2004-05
 2,055
 5,057
 10,393,454


 2005-06
 1,785
 5,002
 8,929,373


 2006-07 4
 757
 4,990
 3,777,454


 2007-08
 695
 5,235
 3,638,325


 2008-09 3
 119
 5,219
 621,061


 Total
 7,667
 N/A
 37,057,317



  Notes:

  1. All figures shown exclude managing agent fees and VAT, at 5% for grant measures.

  2. The information includes all the insulation costs associated with each central heating installation.

  3. The information provided for 2008-09 is to the end of August. As the central heating programme is a demand led scheme no accurate figure is available for the projected spend on oil systems until the end of 2008.

  4. The managing agent contract transferred from Eaga Partnership to Scottish Gas during 2006-07, so the figure for 2006-07 includes installations undertaken by both.

Housing

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has assessed the impact on housing association rents of reducing the average level of housing grant subsidy per house.

Stewart Maxwell: Yes. The Housing Association Grant is now calculated on the basis that rents are assumed to rise at RPI +1% - this is the rate which associations tell us they have in their plans. There is no reason why our bringing our assumption into line with those plans should result in rents rising any further or in general issues of affordability.

Housing

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of a home report will be.

Stewart Maxwell: Costs will be determined by the market. In 2003, the Housing Improvement Task Force estimated the cost of a Single Survey at around £440 for an average Scottish house. The Regulatory Impact Assessment, published in December 2007, allowed for price inflation and employed a 20% confidence interval to reflect varying market conditions on the cost estimate, giving a cost range of £360 to £520 for a single survey for an average house. These figures do not include VAT and do not include the costs of the Energy Report (An EU requirement from 4 January 2009) (estimated at £100).

  The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has estimated that the likely fee for the Single Survey and Energy Report, which are to be prepared by a Chartered Surveyor, will be in the order of £500-700 excluding VAT, for an average house in average condition. The property questionnaire is prepared by the seller of the house, so costs are likely to be minimal or nil.

Housing

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost to purchasers is of a house survey report.

Stewart Maxwell: A "scheme 2 Homebuyer’s Survey and Valuation", which is a more detailed condition survey and is akin to the survey provided within the Home Report Package, currently costs on average between £400 and £600. A Mortgage Valuation Report, which contains very little information on the condition of a house and is described by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as an inspection and not a survey has an average fee of around £150. As with all survey products, the fee for this varies according to the size and condition of the house in question.

Housing

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs are of the constituent parts of a home report.

Stewart Maxwell: The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have confirmed that the aspects of the home report which are carried out by a Chartered Surveyors will cost between £500-700 for an average property in average condition. The cost reflects the additional information in the survey that a surveyor will produce, which includes an Energy Performance Certificate that is required by EU law from 4 January and would otherwise cost in the region of £100. It also reflects the surveyor’s additional formal liability to the buyer as well as the seller. We understand that the current cost of a Scheme 2 Homebuyer’s Survey and Valuation is between £400-600.

  As the Single Survey and the Energy Report with and Energy Performance Certificate are prepared by a Chartered Surveyor, the seller will be charged one fee. The property questionnaire is prepared by the seller of the house, so costs are likely to be minimal or nil.

Local Income Tax

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether HM Revenue and Customs has agreed to collect the proposed local income tax.

John Swinney: The consultation paper, A Fairer Local Tax for Scotland , highlighted our view that collection by HM Revenue and Customs is the most efficient way of delivering a local income tax. Discussions with the UK Government are ongoing to this effect.

Ministerial Travel

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what occasions it is permissible for ministers to travel to party political events in official transport.

John Swinney: Scottish Government ministers base their use of the Government Car Service on clear guidance which has applied to all administrations since devolution. They are assiduous in doing so.

Parliamentary Questions

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16372 by Stewart Stevenson on 1 October 2008, why it was unable to provide a substantive answer to question S3W-15925 when it was originally due for answer, given that the question sought confirmation of whether Transport Scotland had delivered to ministers its findings from the strategic transport projects review.

Stewart Stevenson: Due to an administrative error, the answer to question S3W-15925 was not sent to the Parliament by the due date. The answer the member received on the 16 September 2008, "I shall reply to the member as soon as possible", is the standard reply issued in cases where a full response to a parliamentary question has not been provided by the due date.

Roads

Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the following upgrades of the A92 would cost: (a) a roundabout at Monkstoun, (b) the realignment of the Cairnfield junction and the construction of a staggered ghost island, (c) new lighting at the Cairnfield junction, (d) the Redhouse roundabout upgrade and (e) the Preston to Balfarg dualling.

Stewart Stevenson: It is estimated that the cost of a roundabout on the A92 trunk road at Monkstown would be in the region of £1.5 million (excluding Statutory Undertaker costs). A staggered junction improvement at Cairnfield junction is estimated to cost in the region of £750,000 (excluding Statutory Undertaker costs). Estimated costs for new lighting at Cairnfield junction, upgrading of Redhouse roundabout and Preston to Balfarg dualling are not available as feasibility studies would require to be carried out to determine estimated costs.